"Skip, skip, skip to my Lou..."

We woke to rain once again. At least I did not wake DH and send him out into the storm...once is enough.

Two hours later the rain had stopped and we crankily and creakily dressed for a walk. The clouds had parted and the sun was trying to break through.

We dodged the working men and women as they hurried to the office. Only a couple of folks were so busy or distracted that they managed to miss seeing a couple of people with two big dogs (and one of the people with red flashing lights on their cap!) walking down the sidewalk.

We were late for deer and knew our dirt road would be muddy (and DH has no patience for that kind of thing) so we decided to walk the paved paths around and through the park. We steered clear of the other walker with two big black Labs. I have been tired and sore from the "going, going, going" this week and I was afraid I could not control Scruff and Paddy had they wanted to hang out with their brethren. DH was tired and sore from his exercise routine and did not need much persuading to wait until the other walkers had loaded up and heading home.

The pups, in turn, found and followed the scents of the earlier walkers - I think of Paddy and Scruff as retrievers, not trackers, but they are curious dogs and fond of tracking too. And they can catch that sent of other creatures in the wind, even if they cannot see as well as I once thought. [Truth be known, Paddy will fetch until she is exhausted. Scruffy will watch in amusement. He was not taught to fetch and has refused to learn. What is that about old dogs and new tricks? I am proud he learned to sit on command.]


First sunrise we have seen in a few days...



DH walking ahead with Scruffy and Paddy



My gang. Aren't they a lovely sight?

I had just about decided I would not even write about our walk today. It was uneventful. It was a pleasant, but ordinary thing. We solved no world problems and did not even make plans for the day. We just enjoyed the surprisingly late cool weather and the opportunity to be together with our pets - not in a hurry or concerned about more than that.

We turned away from the river to head toward home and I stopped. "Deer!"

The underbrush and grass from last season has died and fallen. This year's grass is just taking hold. So our view down the hill to the start of the dirt road was almost unobstructed. There, casually grazing on the just sprouting green, was the deer herd. DH and I counted and watched and counted again as the deer moved in the clearing. I handed the dogs off to DH to see if I could grab some evidence.

Here is the best of my poor photography. We stopped a couple of times for photos and I used the telephoto option (remember, this is a pocket point-n-shoot outfit).




OK. I know you can see them here.




No? How about this?



And this?



And this?



We were surprised they did not run. This was taken from behind a tree much closer to the road.



As was this.



And this.



And this.



And, finally, this.

We counted five deer. I was never able to get a photo of all of them together, but I was pleased to have some proof.